Related papers: A social license for nuclear technologies
As fusion energy technologies approach demonstration and commercial deployment, understanding public perspectives on future fusion facilities will be critical for achieving social license, especially because fusion energy facilities, unlike…
Fusion energy, the process that uses the same reaction that powers the sun and the stars, offers the promise of virtually unlimited, carbon-free energy and is approaching reality. Recently, there's been a dramatic global increase in the…
Fusion energy is often regarded as a long-term solution to the world's energy needs. However, even after solving the critical research challenges, engineering and materials science will still impose significant constraints on the…
One of the strong motivations for pursuing the development of fusion energy is its potentially low environmental impact and very good safety performance. But this safety and environmental potential can only be fully realized by careful…
A long-term strategy based on existing technological, ecological, economical, and geopolitical realities is urgently needed to develop a sustainable energy economy, which should be designed with adaptability to unpredicted changes in any of…
This paper describes the underlying philosophy, design, and implementation of a course on "Nuclear Technology, Policy, and Society" taught in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan. The…
Like any technology, AI systems come with inherent risks and potential benefits. It comes with potential disruption of established norms and methods of work, societal impacts and externalities. One may think of the adoption of technology as…
Poland is currently undergoing substantial transformation in its energy sector, and gaining public support is pivotal for the success of its energy policies. We conducted a study with 338 Polish participants to investigate societal…
Nuclear fission energy is considered to be somewhere between the holy grail, required to solve all energy worries of the human industrialized civilization, and a fast path directly to hell. Discussions about future energy sources and the…
Due primarily to technological advances over the last decade, quantum research has become a key priority area for science and technology policy all over the world. With this manifesto we wish to prevent quantum technology from running into…
This article explores the potential divides from emerging quantum technologies (QT) on society, covering impacts on science, technology, geopolitics, and societal structures. We aim to challenge the concept of a single "quantum divide" by…
The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale was initially developed by NASA in the 1970s and is now widely used in space, nuclear, and other complex technology sectors in the US and beyond. The TRL scale is particularly useful for…
With the growing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) for many different applications, the sharing of code, data, and models is important to ensure the replicability and democratization of scientific knowledge. Many high-profile…
Climate change presents an existential threat to human societies and the Earth's ecosystems more generally. Mitigation strategies naturally require solving a wide range of challenging problems in science, engineering, and economics. In this…
Our world of power and national security is increasingly probabilistic: like a quantum wavefunction, it encodes multiple plausible futures until policy choices and shocks collapse them into observable outcomes. Quantum technologies have…
Despite numerous achievements and recent progress, nuclear physics is often (wrongly) considered an old field of research nowadays. However, developments in theoretical frameworks and reliable experimental techniques have made the field…
In a world increasingly dominated by AI applications, an understudied aspect is the carbon and social footprint of these power-hungry algorithms that require copious computation and a trove of data for training and prediction. While…
The tools used to engineer something are just as important as the thing that is actually being engineered. In fact, in many cases, the tools can indeed determine what is engineerable. In fusion and fission1 energy engineering, software has…
Applications of Generative AI (Gen AI) are expected to revolutionize a number of different areas, ranging from science & medicine to education. The potential for these seismic changes has triggered a lively debate about the potential risks…
Open Science aims to foster openness and collaboration in research, leading to more significant scientific and social impact. However, practicing Open Science comes with several challenges and is currently not properly rewarded. In this…